Trial Starts For Protesters Arrested At Abortion Clinic

There was controversy even before testimony began on Wednesday in the trial of seven people accused of obstructing police during an anti-abortion demonstration outside a Boca Raton doctor`s office.

Of the initial pool of 60 potential jurors, about half were excused because they said their views about abortion were so strong they did not think they could render an impartial verdict if abortion were an issue in the trial.

Actually, the issue is whether the seven refused to obey the orders of police to move to allow employees to enter the clinic.

Defense attorneys said in their opening statements that their clients were not obstructing police, as charged, but were cooperating with them.

``There was a spirit of cooperativeness there,`` defense attorney A.T. Connick said in his opening statement to jurors.

All are charged with obstructing police without violence. They were among 83 arrested on the morning of March 31 outside Dr. Robert Livingston`s office on East Palmetto Park Road. The others pleaded no contest to the charges and were ordered to pay fines and court costs and to serve probation.

Boca Raton police Sgt. Bruce Volling, who supervised the arrests, testified that officers were told that everyone arrested must be warned to move and then refuse before he or she could be charged.